Clothing is generally mass produced in a variety of sizes. Most casual clothing can be purchased in a range of sizes, and may not require alteration. The problem with short sleeve shirts is that many short sleeve shirts that fit a person's torso do not always fit his/her arms (in circumference), and if he/she buys short sleeve shirts that fit the circumference of his/her arms, then it usually is too tight on his/her body. It is desirable to make the shirt highlight the right features of the person wearing the shirt. The present invention allows for a semi-custom fit around the bicep area of the sleeve; it allows a person to wear a shirt that fits his/her body while giving a semi-custom snug fit around the bicep, or around the chest area.
Another application is with long-sleeved shirts (an example is sweatshirts, but not limited to sweat shirts) that have elastic wrist material that has worn out from pulling the sleeves up and down, and/or being washed many times. Additionally, the invention is applicable to long-sleeved shirts if the elastic is too loose in the sleeves, or if the elastic becomes so stretched-out that it no longer fits properly. The present invention would allow a person to create a snug fit instantly.
While this is the preferred use of the invention, it can also be used to alter other parts of clothing which have, or can take, a seam. The invention can also be used to decorate laced shoes and other items with laces. The clip can be put on a baseball cap, to hold a women's scarf on her head, or on other miscellaneous items of clothing as an insignia, advertisement, or piece of jewelry.
Various devices are currently used in conjunction with clothing to create a seam or a tuck. For example, it is known art to attach a safety pin to a piece of clothing to hold it in place. However, such pins are not very attractive and can be difficult to attach if multiple folds or thick fabric is involved. Furthermore, the safety pins can often be seen, and the safety pin can also stick the person wearing the clothes, or someone else if he/she gets too close to the wearer of the short sleeve shirt. U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,823 uses a tie clasp to hold a tie close to the shirt of the wearer. Of course, a wide range of buttons and pins have been attached to clothing for decoration or identification of the wearer. Others have used a paper clip to create a temporary seam, but the paper clips can be seen by third parties and do not have a locking mechanism to keep the paper clip from being dislodged by the wearer's movements. Nor does a paper clip have a longer loop arm to assist with a tapered seam as is found on a short sleeve shirt or tee shirt.
Convertible garments are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,128 discloses a drop-down cuff for trouser legs or sleeves. The cuffs are held in their raised positions by Velcro® pads or by stitching. U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,965 discloses a convertible shirt where the lower portion is provided with crystal beads or buttons which may be secured to an ornamental loop braid at the bottom of the upper portion or short skirt. U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,892 discloses converting trousers or shirts into shorts or short-sleeve shirts using a Velcro® strip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,613 discloses that a short-sleeve shirt may be converted to a long-sleeve shirt by using pile fasteners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,043 discloses a hem holding device for the temporary shortening and raising of a hem line of an article of clothing by the wearer of that clothing. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,511 also shows a temporary hemming device for the cuff of trousers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,751 B1 shows a method and apparatus for temporarily and decoratively altering clothing with a tie tack device. U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,438 discloses an adjustable length garment where the tubular additions may be secured to an adjacent upper portion by a zipper. U.S. Pat App 2007/0271683 A2 discloses a novel attachment for lengthening garments by using a clip to clip beads or other ornamentation onto an existing garment.
U.S. Pat. Application Nos. 2009/0095207 A1 discloses using a device to temporarily hem/cuff trouser legs, and U.S. 2010/0251459 A1 discloses using a compression circle to temporarily hem/cuff a pair of trouser's hems/cuffs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,998 discloses using heat adhesive tape as the mechanism for holding the cuffed hem of a pair of trousers.
U.S. Pat. App. 2005/0044610 teaches that a garment may be provided with convertible ornamentation. U.S. Patent/Application 2007/0245460 discloses using a magnet and strip of metal to hold a pant leg away from the ground. U.S. Pat. Application No. 2007/0245460 teaches the use of a magnet and a piece of metal to adjust the length of a pair of pants.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,700 B2 discloses a new form of paper clip and discusses prior paper clips patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,777 shows another form of clip for holding paper together.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,940 B1 discloses a hairstyling device with a comb-like bottom. U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,296 B2 discloses a clip used to hold onto a frame and clip on a piece of fabric, such as in a sign.
Another way of temporarily satisfying this need is to use clips known in the art, such as a paper clip, to form a temporary seam or hem. The use of such clips has been shown not to be effective. Most clips are designed to secure materials with generally thin, flat surfaces. The clips known in the art are not adapted to clip thick material such as multiple layers of tee shirt material. When thick material, such as multiple layers of shirt-sleeve material, are placed between the arms of a conventional paper clip, the paper clip generally fails to exert enough force to secure multiple layers of tee shirt material. Consequently, the paper clip will slide off the material as the wearer of the shirt moves around.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide (a) an improved temporary seam or hem that is easily adjustable; (b) a method of making such a seam/hem; and (c) a method of locking and unlocking the seam/hem. Another object of the present invention is to provide an easy way to make a temporary seam so that shirts will fit better around a prosthetic limb. The present invention could also be used to secure the hospital gown one is required to use in hospitals and doctors' offices.
A further object of the present invention is to provide uniquely configured and aesthetically pleasing ornamental designs to be worn on the rim/edge of a baseball cap, or on shoe laces as jewelry or for advertisement purposes.